Theme: Eeew! Bug assault!
17A. Bug : LISTENING DEVICE. The glass-against-the-wall ploy doesn't work, despite what you see in the movies.
26A. Bug : PROGRAM FAULT. I've been responsible for a few of these. The very first program I ran at school went into an infinite loop. It was a portent of things to come. Apple have a sense of humor with their street address:
44A. Bug : VIRAL ILLNESS. Just a 24-hour flu, if you're lucky.
57A. Bug : VOLKSWAGEN MODEL. We had a clashing pink purse/yellow VW Bug last week.I'll spare you the repeat imagery.
What a great puzzle from Bruce and Gail. I really take my hat off to a weekday puzzle like this that is nothing but fun, and challenging to get through. I stared down the top-middle before the simplest fill (SOD) finally unlocked it for me. Bravo, guys. Thanks for the workout.
Across:
1. Alpine racing obstacle : GATE. Two poles on the course you have to ski between. Wouldn't it be fun if it was an actual gate that you had to stop and open, or leap over? (Be careful to close it behind you).
5. Whisks : BEATS
10. Thought-provoking : DEEP
14. Arkin of "Argo" : ALAN
15. Prenatal test, for short : AMNIO. -centesis. Tough choices when faced with this one.
16. Former "Fashion Emergency" host : EMME. Who? Crosses for me.
20. Industrial Revolution power source : STEAM
21. Kilt wearer's refusal : NAE. I was expecting "NO UNDERWEAR" and mercifully ran out of space.
22. Destructive insect : BORER
23. Bering Sea port : NOME. As the locals say "There's no place like Nome".
25. Invigorates : ROUSES
31. Cocoon and Posturepedic : SEALYS. Confident "aha!" and "SEELYS: went in. A later correction with a crossing tempered my hubris. Thank you, OARS.
32. Parks in American history : ROSA
33. Cuba libre ingredient : RUM. I loved the RUM, COKE and LIME clechos here. Great mini-theme.
36. Confident : SURE
37. Flags down : HAILS
39. Cuba libre ingredient : COKE. Lovely. See 33A
40. Decorates with Angel Soft, briefly : TPS. Charmin in my house. I don't know exactly how much a roll costs, but I'm not about to throw it around the neighborhood.
41. "Now that you mention it ... " : WELL .... Generally not a good start. Be diplomatic.
42. Places for French lessons : ÉCOLES
46. Backless furniture : STOOLS
49. Pallet piece : SLAT
50. Put up with : ABIDE. A word with two senses - literally "live (with)". In the pejorative sense in this case "I can't abide this person". But also in the hymn of hope sense "Abide with me". This is traditionally sung before the kick-off of the English soccer cup final in London each year. I'm not sure how the tradition started, but it's pretty cool to hear 80,000 people singing the last stanza of each verse.
51. One to hang with : PAL
53. Pro shop set : IRONS. I have Taylor Made irons. I didn't buy them in the Pro shop though - cheaper online! The US Open starts today - I'm in a for-fun pool to pick a team of ten golfers to win the most prize money between them. My ten are: Day, McIlroy, Spieth, Garcia, Fowler, Matsuyama, Snedeker, Reed, Berger and Knox.
60. 4-F's opposite : ONE-A
61. Intense : ACUTE
62. Cuba libre ingredient : LIME. Lovely. See 33A.
63. Part of a wine list : REDS
64. Migratory birds : GEESE
65. It's measured in inches : SNOW. Stop sniggering at the back. Plenty of this in Nome.
Down:
1. Some square dancers : GALS. Guys the other 50%, or so.
2. Settled on a branch : ALIT
3. Zap : TASE
4. Involve in a complicated way : ENTANGLE. Nice!
5. Negative decree : BAN
6. "8 Mile" rapper : EMINEM. An amazing talent. Whether or not hip-hop is your thing, I love this track. Probably rated R for language.
7. "Breaking Bad" Emmy winner Gunn : ANNA. Who?
8. Buster Brown's dog : TIGE. No idea. Contributed to a blank section for quite some time.
9. Ground cover : SOD. This little three-letter "oh!" finally unlocked the whole top-middle section for me. What a great construction key.
10. Deeply religious : DEVOUT
11. Dubai dignitaries : EMIRS
12. Link between speakers : EMCEE. Was vaguely on the right track with SEGUE but vague doesn't cut it. Corrected.
13. Reviewers of academic essays : PEERS.
18. Atlanta university : EMORY
19. Scary name in 2014 news : EBOLA
24. Kitchen gadgets : MASHERS. I have forks. Over the years I've discarded gadgets in favor of simpler and more efficient tools. Herb mincers? Garlic presses? Mashers? Pah. They use up space and are usually troublesome to clean. Big-Assed cleaver! Fork! Now you're talking.
25. Five-time NBA MVP Bill : RUSSELL. Tried WALTON first and was left with an empty square.
26. Wordless summons : PSST!
27. Do another stint : RE-UP
28. Couple in a dinghy : OARS. Corrected my miss-spelt SEELY/SEALY from earlier.
29. Superfluity : FRILL. I flat-out LOVED this clue. How many times have we seen "superfluous" and never given the other forms of the word a passing thought? Fantastic. Made my day.
30. Moviefone parent co. : AOL. Amazing who ends up being owned by whom. No doubt it will be different next year.
(Below were added later: Original write-up from 30-D went missing)
33. Othello or Iago : ROLE. From the play.
34. Hula strings : UKEs
35. Difficult spot : MESS
38. __ carte : À LA
39. Instrument panel array : CONTROLS
41. Cunning : WILES
43. Adjuster's concern : CLAIM
44. Beverages sometimes made from potatoes : VODKAs
45. Archipelago parts : ISLETs
46. Relish : SAVOR
47. Chophouse choice : T-BONE. Nice pairing.
48. Quieted, in a way : OILED
51. Rate : PACE
52. Reason for cold compresses and extra blankets : AGUE
54. Chief god of Asgard : ODIN
55. Literary sea captain : NEMO
56. Large quantity : SLEW
58. Sign of a canine excitement : WAG
59. Bridal bio word : NÉE
I'm in Milwaukee for a couple of days, so just checked the wonderful state of Wisconsin off my bucket list. The weather here is better than back in LA - not often you can say that, I wager.
And .... here's the grid. No circles!
Steve
17A. Bug : LISTENING DEVICE. The glass-against-the-wall ploy doesn't work, despite what you see in the movies.
26A. Bug : PROGRAM FAULT. I've been responsible for a few of these. The very first program I ran at school went into an infinite loop. It was a portent of things to come. Apple have a sense of humor with their street address:
44A. Bug : VIRAL ILLNESS. Just a 24-hour flu, if you're lucky.
57A. Bug : VOLKSWAGEN MODEL. We had a clashing pink purse/yellow VW Bug last week.I'll spare you the repeat imagery.
What a great puzzle from Bruce and Gail. I really take my hat off to a weekday puzzle like this that is nothing but fun, and challenging to get through. I stared down the top-middle before the simplest fill (SOD) finally unlocked it for me. Bravo, guys. Thanks for the workout.
Across:
1. Alpine racing obstacle : GATE. Two poles on the course you have to ski between. Wouldn't it be fun if it was an actual gate that you had to stop and open, or leap over? (Be careful to close it behind you).
5. Whisks : BEATS
10. Thought-provoking : DEEP
14. Arkin of "Argo" : ALAN
15. Prenatal test, for short : AMNIO. -centesis. Tough choices when faced with this one.
16. Former "Fashion Emergency" host : EMME. Who? Crosses for me.
20. Industrial Revolution power source : STEAM
21. Kilt wearer's refusal : NAE. I was expecting "NO UNDERWEAR" and mercifully ran out of space.
22. Destructive insect : BORER
23. Bering Sea port : NOME. As the locals say "There's no place like Nome".
25. Invigorates : ROUSES
31. Cocoon and Posturepedic : SEALYS. Confident "aha!" and "SEELYS: went in. A later correction with a crossing tempered my hubris. Thank you, OARS.
32. Parks in American history : ROSA
33. Cuba libre ingredient : RUM. I loved the RUM, COKE and LIME clechos here. Great mini-theme.
36. Confident : SURE
37. Flags down : HAILS
39. Cuba libre ingredient : COKE. Lovely. See 33A
40. Decorates with Angel Soft, briefly : TPS. Charmin in my house. I don't know exactly how much a roll costs, but I'm not about to throw it around the neighborhood.
41. "Now that you mention it ... " : WELL .... Generally not a good start. Be diplomatic.
42. Places for French lessons : ÉCOLES
46. Backless furniture : STOOLS
49. Pallet piece : SLAT
50. Put up with : ABIDE. A word with two senses - literally "live (with)". In the pejorative sense in this case "I can't abide this person". But also in the hymn of hope sense "Abide with me". This is traditionally sung before the kick-off of the English soccer cup final in London each year. I'm not sure how the tradition started, but it's pretty cool to hear 80,000 people singing the last stanza of each verse.
Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me
Hold now your Word before my closing eyes.
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks and earth's vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks and earth's vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
53. Pro shop set : IRONS. I have Taylor Made irons. I didn't buy them in the Pro shop though - cheaper online! The US Open starts today - I'm in a for-fun pool to pick a team of ten golfers to win the most prize money between them. My ten are: Day, McIlroy, Spieth, Garcia, Fowler, Matsuyama, Snedeker, Reed, Berger and Knox.
60. 4-F's opposite : ONE-A
61. Intense : ACUTE
62. Cuba libre ingredient : LIME. Lovely. See 33A.
63. Part of a wine list : REDS
64. Migratory birds : GEESE
65. It's measured in inches : SNOW. Stop sniggering at the back. Plenty of this in Nome.
Down:
1. Some square dancers : GALS. Guys the other 50%, or so.
2. Settled on a branch : ALIT
3. Zap : TASE
4. Involve in a complicated way : ENTANGLE. Nice!
5. Negative decree : BAN
6. "8 Mile" rapper : EMINEM. An amazing talent. Whether or not hip-hop is your thing, I love this track. Probably rated R for language.
7. "Breaking Bad" Emmy winner Gunn : ANNA. Who?
8. Buster Brown's dog : TIGE. No idea. Contributed to a blank section for quite some time.
9. Ground cover : SOD. This little three-letter "oh!" finally unlocked the whole top-middle section for me. What a great construction key.
10. Deeply religious : DEVOUT
11. Dubai dignitaries : EMIRS
12. Link between speakers : EMCEE. Was vaguely on the right track with SEGUE but vague doesn't cut it. Corrected.
13. Reviewers of academic essays : PEERS.
18. Atlanta university : EMORY
19. Scary name in 2014 news : EBOLA
24. Kitchen gadgets : MASHERS. I have forks. Over the years I've discarded gadgets in favor of simpler and more efficient tools. Herb mincers? Garlic presses? Mashers? Pah. They use up space and are usually troublesome to clean. Big-Assed cleaver! Fork! Now you're talking.
25. Five-time NBA MVP Bill : RUSSELL. Tried WALTON first and was left with an empty square.
26. Wordless summons : PSST!
27. Do another stint : RE-UP
28. Couple in a dinghy : OARS. Corrected my miss-spelt SEELY/SEALY from earlier.
29. Superfluity : FRILL. I flat-out LOVED this clue. How many times have we seen "superfluous" and never given the other forms of the word a passing thought? Fantastic. Made my day.
30. Moviefone parent co. : AOL. Amazing who ends up being owned by whom. No doubt it will be different next year.
(Below were added later: Original write-up from 30-D went missing)
33. Othello or Iago : ROLE. From the play.
34. Hula strings : UKEs
35. Difficult spot : MESS
38. __ carte : À LA
39. Instrument panel array : CONTROLS
41. Cunning : WILES
43. Adjuster's concern : CLAIM
44. Beverages sometimes made from potatoes : VODKAs
45. Archipelago parts : ISLETs
46. Relish : SAVOR
47. Chophouse choice : T-BONE. Nice pairing.
48. Quieted, in a way : OILED
51. Rate : PACE
52. Reason for cold compresses and extra blankets : AGUE
54. Chief god of Asgard : ODIN
55. Literary sea captain : NEMO
56. Large quantity : SLEW
58. Sign of a canine excitement : WAG
59. Bridal bio word : NÉE
I'm in Milwaukee for a couple of days, so just checked the wonderful state of Wisconsin off my bucket list. The weather here is better than back in LA - not often you can say that, I wager.
And .... here's the grid. No circles!
Steve
